BY FERDINAND EKEOMA , UMUAHIA
A few hours ago, the State Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Elder Abraham Amah wrote an “Open Letter ” to Governor Alex Otti over the African Development Bank Loan” approved for Abia State Government.
Firstly, it’s important to state that the Otti government recognises the place and importance of opposition in a democracy and therefore respects the right of every individual or a political party to raise an objection or ask questions that border on governance in Abia State.
Having stated the above, it’s important to emphatically submit that the “Open Letter” by the PDP State Chairman and his subsequent radio interview was a creation of intentional mischief, because it was riddled with lies, distortions, inconsistencies and contradictions. Neither the Open Letter nor the interview should have been written or granted.
His radio interview made mess of the Open Letter as it completely deviated from the cosmetic altruistic posturing he exhibited in the letter, and resorted to distortions and disinformation that were baseless and unfounded.
Elder Amah predicated his objection and criticism of the proposed loan on the following misrepresentationsv:
1.That Governor Alex Otti “had declared on many occasions that he wasn’t going to borrow”.
The Fact:
At no time did Governor Alex Otti ever claim that the state under his watch will not borrow.
How does; I have not borrowed mean that I’ll not borrow?
How does borrowing to invest in Critical Infrastructure and Industrialisation negate Otti’s economic and development philosophy?
How could Governor Otti have claimed that he wasn’t going to borrow, when the highly publicised 2024 budget he presented to the State House of Assembly properly captured the provision for the amount to be borrowed?
I challenge Chief Amah and his party to present any evidence to substantiate their false claim.
- That Governor Otti “sat down alone, conceived and took the decision to borrow alone without consultation and without the necessary approvals”.
THE FACT:
A State Chairman of a once ruling political party like the PDP should have known better and should have sounded more reasonable by not taking propaganda to the extreme.
By the nature of the AfDB Loan, and by law and practice, the Federal government through the Federal Ministry of Finance is the borrower on behalf of the state. Therefore, there is no way Governor Otti or any other person could have negotiated with the AFDB without following the established guidelines.
- That the Public “was kept in the dark until AfDB’s announcement”.
The Fact: The above statement is either premised on ignorance or driven by a dubious intention to misrepresent facts and mislead the public.
Presenting his speech captioned “Results Through Partnership” during the launch of the Abia State Integrated Infrastructure Development Project powered by the same AfDB less than three weeks ago, Governor Otti had this to say:
“While it is true that we have done considerably well in improving the productive environment across the State, the philosophy of development demands that we raise the bar even higher, broaden the scope of our pursuits in line with rising levels of public expectations and establish robust relationship with the right partners to further accelerate the pace of our progress.
“It is on this note that I am glad to announce and welcome three major development partners, the African Development Bank (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the Canada-Africa Development Bank Climate Fund (CACF) to the New Abia train under the aegis of Abia State Integrated Infrastructure Development Project (ABSIID)”
How could any honest person accuse the Governor of hiding the loan issue when he held such an elaborate event where key players from the three lending financial institutions were present and everything about this loan facility was discussed and well publicised ?
Elder Amah boasted that Former Governor “Ikpeazu laid the foundation and created the framework for the loan”. Good, so if Ikpeazu “did everything” about the loan, and Governor Otti “is only receiving the money” why is Amah pretending not to know anything about the details of the loan, including the interest rate and the tenure?
Why did he accuse Governor Otti of sitting down in his house and initiating and accessing the loan?
The truth is that, Elder Amah and the PDP are embittered and disappointed that they are not in government to access and squander the funds like the 22 billion naira Paris Club Refund that remains uncountable for.
Like Governor Otti stated in his speech that “In truth, the conception of this initiative preceded the coming of our administration but then, the fact that it took our coming on board to materialise speaks to the growing confidence of multilateral partners in the development trajectory of the State under our leadership” The government Elder Amah served was very notorious in the management of public funds, hence reputable finacial institutions dealt with them with utmost caution.
By asking Governor Otti questions about our debt profile, Amah and the PDP are pretending not to be following the activities of the Debt Management Office and its publications, especially the latest one that showed the state’s excellent performance in the repayment of debt incurred by Amah’s PDP-led government.
As the Publicity Secretary of the PDP, especially ahead of the 2023 election, Amah was vicious, rude, uncouth and dishonest in the discharge of his duties, sadly, those poor strategies failed him and his party, therefore, if he must lead his party to recovery and relevance again, he must do serious self-apraisal and would need to embrace the principles of humility, honesty and altruism.
Ferdinand Ekeoma
Special Adviser to the Governor
(Media and Publicity)
July 18, 2025.
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